Dairy Industry

My hon. Friend makes a good point; indeed, he has been at the fore in putting those views forward. Most of the Members present come from the western part of Britain. Its higher rainfall and ability to grow grass means that it could compete internationally as well as any nation. Mention has been made of the fair trade movement, which has been spectacularly successful in addressing poverty in third-world countries. I draw Members’ attention to the fair trade for British farmers campaign, which has been launched by Country Living magazine, Waitrose and Farmers Guardian. Members can still sign up to it on the website—they could even sign my early-day motion on the matter. On Friday, I am debating the issue at the Hay-on-Wye festival of literature with representatives of the fair trade movement. Please come to Hay-on-Wye to support the tourism industry and the wonderful food that is produced in my constituency. The case has been made that supermarkets are abusing their power and position of strength in this marketplace and in the food industry in general. The Minister has a role to play, in the sense that where abuse is identified, we need to have systems in place to ensure that proper competition exists. In a perfect market there should be many sellers and many buyers, and everybody should know how much product is being produced and what it is being sold for. We are reaching the stage where we have the knowledge, but abuse remains very much present in the system, and the Government have a role to play in addressing that.